


The Phlu

by Xzeihoranth



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-10-28 21:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10840221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xzeihoranth/pseuds/Xzeihoranth
Summary: Pyrrha is sick. People want to help.That's basically it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of Pyrrha feelings earlier today, and this came out. The feelings were literally painful.

Ren closed the door behind him. He turned to face RWBY and his teammates, minus Pyrrha of course.

"How is she?" Yang asked.

Ren shook his head. "She's resting. But her temperature's about 38 degrees."

Everyone winced. "She should've said something." Jaune said.

"The Vytal Festival's coming up fast. Maybe she didn't want to fall behind." Ruby said.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Weiss said. "Pyrrha Nikos does not fall behind!"

"It's precisely that kind of thinking that got her into this mess." Ren said. Everyone looked at him. He sounded angry. "Now," he said, more calmly. "If anyone wishes to see her, I'd advise you to do it soon."

"Is she in danger?" Ruby asked, shrinking in on herself.

"Not at all." Ren said with a smile. "But she's not very...lucid right now. And it's likely to get worse before it gets better."

"Let Ruby go." Blake said.

"Why her?" Weiss asked.

"She must be scared. Pyrrha collapsed while training with her."

"I'm not scared!" Ruby said. "Did you _see_ the size of the robot we took down?"

"This isn't a fight though. You're watching someone you care about go through something you have no way of helping them with." Blake said.

Ruby's eyes widened. "I...I hadn't thought about it like that..." she murmured. She turned to Weiss. "Weiss, do you have anything in those Glyphs that might help?"

"My Glyphs can't be used for healing. At least not that I know of." Weiss said.

Ruby looked at the door. Her lip trembled.

"Then it's settled." Ren put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Whenever you're ready Ruby."

"Can..." She fought back a sniff. "Can I bring Nora in with me?"

"Of course." Ren said. "The rest of us have classes to go to. We'll be sure to make your excuses to Professor Oobleck."

Before Yang left with the others, she wrapped her sister up in a hug. "She's going to be fine Ruby." she whispered.

"I know." Ruby said, even though she didn't.

* * *

Ruby crept toward the bed. She looked down at the ashen woman lying atop it. "Hi Pyrrha." she said quietly.

Pyrrha's lips were moving, but no sound came out.

"Ren said your temperature was like 38? That's..." Ruby did the math in her head. "A little over 100." She reached out and put her hand on Pyrrha's arm. She was burning like Yang. "I'm sorry you felt like you had to hide this from me."

Ruby and Nora stood watching Pyrrha in silence. At one point Pyrrha moaned and turned her head in their direction. Ruby bent over to listen. "Spiral...staircase, rhinoceros beetle, ruined street, fig...fig tart-"

Ruby looked at Nora. "That's all she's been saying." Nora whispered. "Over and over. Jaune thinks it's a lullaby her parents used to sing to her."

"What kind of lullaby is _that_?"

Pyrrha continued to talk. "-rhinoceros beetle... via dolorosa... singularity point... giotto... an-" She gasped. "-angel... hydrangea... rhinoceros beetle... singularity point... secret...emperor..."

"Pyrrha?" Ruby said. "Nora's here. I thought she might help calm you down." She scuffed her shoe on the ground like Yang. "I guess I should've brought Jaune, but...he isn't taking this well."

Nora crouched down beside her teammate. "Hey." she said, in a voice that mere moments ago would have seemed impossible coming from her. "When you're up, I'll have Ren make you those pancaaaakes." Pyrrha seemed to smile. "With extra syruuuup." Ruby watched, smiling despite herself, as Nora moved in closer, finger extended. She poked Pyrrha on the nose. " _Boop_." she said. Then she leaned in and kissed the spot where her finger had been. "Feel better soon, okay?" She stood up and came back to Ruby's side.

Ruby's legs were getting tired, so she carefully sat down on the bed next to Pyrrha. "I remember that time I almost walked in on you singing to yourself." she said, so quietly not even Nora could hear her. "I went out and bought that song the next day. I play it all the time. No one knows who I heard it from." Ruby smiled again. She started to sing. "'The scroll rings in the middle of the night; my father yells, "What you gonna do with your life?" Oh daddy dear, you know you're still number one. But girls—they wanna have fun. Oh, girls just wanna have...'"

She wiped her tears away. "I can put it on for you now, if you want. Say nothing if I should do it." She waited. "Okay!" She got up, stepping on her cape in the process so that she nearly tripped when she tried to make her way over to where someone had left Pyrrha's belongings. "Guess it's a good thing she didn't have time to sign out of her Scroll." Ruby said as she thumbed through it.

Nora peered over her shoulder. "Whatcha lookin' for?" she asked.

"It's a surprise." Ruby said.

"Is it her texts from Weiss? Weiss never texts her. I heard she went out and bought a whole new Scroll in case her dad had her old one bugged."

Ruby smiled. "I'm not spying on my teammate. Or on Pyrrha. I'm just trying to find..." She scrolled down Pyrrha's list of songs. "There!" She checked the volume to make sure it wasn't too loud before she set Pyrrha's Scroll down on her nightstand and let the music play. "Come on. Let's let her get some rest."

Ruby took one last look at Pyrrha before she closed the door. She remembered the joy Pyrrha had taken in that song. It seemed to speak to her. Maybe one day Ruby would be brave enough to ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you identify the reference?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss continues to be a Gay Disaster. It's cathartic.  
> Mild internalized homophobia towards the end.

"Pyrrha?"

She stirred.

"Pyrrha, I'd like to know how you are."

She tried to open her eyes.

"Your temperature's still 38. It's holding steady, which is good and bad."

"I feel all bad right now." she muttered.

"But you're able to answer me. That's good. So it evens out."

She smiled. "You always know how to look on the bright side Ren."

"I've had practice." Ren put his hand on her forehead.

"You-" She coughed. "-you already said my fever was the same as before."

"I did." he acknowledged. "This is to show that I care."

She laughed and coughed at the same time, and kept on coughing. He took his hand away and offered her a tissue. She coughed into the tissue, then blew her nose on another part of it. "Thank you." she said weakly.

Ren gingerly took the tissue from her and disposed of it. "Think nothing of it."

Her eyes were open now. Instead of their usual emerald green, they were weak and watery. "You should go." she said. "I'm probably still contagious."

"My Aura is keeping me safe." he replied. "Yours would have done the same if you'd let it."

She sighed. "I know." she croaked. "But the Grimm-"

"The Grimm have been repelled. Vale and Beacon are safe."

"It's not that." Ren put his hands behind his back and waited for Pyrrha to continue. "They hurt and killed so many innocent people. If I had been faster, if I had been stronger-"

Ren held up a hand. "You _were_ fast, and you _were_ strong. Many more would have suffered if we hadn't been there."

She struggled to sit up. "What good is all our power if we can't help those in need?"

"Pyrrha, you're very ill. Now is not the time to debate philosophy." He reached out and eased her back down onto the pillow. "Team RWBY is concerned about you. Would it be all right if I let them in, one at a time?"

She sighed, and coughed again. "I suppose." She looked over at the nightstand. "I thought I heard music earlier. Was...was Ruby here?"

Ren nodded. "Nora said she seemed upset."

Pyrrha wiped her eyes on her sleep-shirt. "Tell her I'm sorry, please. I know she must be terribly worried."

Ren nodded again. "I will. You should get some rest. I'll let you know before I admit any visitors."

"Thank you Ren." She closed her eyes, only to open them again when he was about to shut the door. "Ren?" she called hoarsely.

He put his head back into the room. "Yes?"

"You should get some rest yourself. It wouldn't do for us both to get sick."

He smiled. "Sleep well Pyrrha."

 

* * *

 

Her dreams of formless nameless things were interrupted by a gentle scritching sound. More than once Pyrrha woke up and tried to look around only to fall asleep again before she could try and find the source. On the fourth try, she saw a white ponytail in the center of the room. "Weiss?" she tried to say.

She woke again to see Weiss Schnee's concerned face looming large over her. "Pyrrha Nikos." she said harshly, but not too loudly. "Do not ever do that again."

"It's not something I can control." Pyrrha laughed faintly. "But I'll try."

"Good." Weiss said. Her face disappeared, and Pyrrha heard footsteps retreating back to the center of the room.

"Is that all you came in here to say?" Pyrrha asked.

"Of course not." Weiss said. "But anything else will clearly have to wait until you're better."

Pyrrha dozed off again. The next time she woke, she realized something. "You were crying." she said.

"No." Weiss said. "I'm doing homework."

"The two aren't mutually exclusive." Pyrrha said, and started to cough. Her suspicions were confirmed by the speed with which Weiss arrived at her side and the expression that she wore. "Could you get..." She was interrupted by coughs. "...get me some..."

"Yes, of course. Right away." Weiss said in a rush. She hurried out the door, and was back a short time later with two separate glasses of water. "I'm sorry it took so long." she apologized. "Drink as much as you can."

Pyrrha drank only half a glass before she had to put it down. "I'm not thirsty as such. My throat just hurts."

"Drinking will help keep you hydrated, something which your sweating is taking out of you." Weiss sounded suspiciously like she was trying _not_ to quote verbatim from a book she'd been reading recently.

"Weiss, I'll be fine." Pyrrha fought back a cough; poorly, if Weiss's face was any indication. "I just need rest."

"No you don't! You need..." Weiss gave up and pulled out her book. "Uhh..." She traced a finger over the words while Pyrrha watched. "A steam bath! Yes! That's it!" She set the book down and pulled back the covers from Pyrrha's bed. "Come on." she said. "I'll help you up."

Pyrrha got shakily to her feet. "You know Weiss," she began as Weiss walked her to JNPR's bathroom. "Bathing is traditionally done...in the nude..."

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks. Her ears went red first, then the rest of her face. "It's not a problem." she tried to say. "I'll just...close my eyes while I help you undr- undress..."

She looked as though she was going to blow a fuse. Pyrrha laughed in spite of herself. "I'm sorry." she said. "I don't even need the bath; I can just breathe in the steam coming out of your ears."

Weiss fumed. "You think this is funny?" she said indignantly. Pyrrha kept laughing. It hurt to laugh, hurt to breathe, hurt in her throat and her lungs, but she couldn't help it. Weiss continued to glare at her, and Pyrrha continued to laugh. Eventually Weiss's glare faltered and she let out a very small snicker. Pyrrha found this hilarious, and so did Weiss by proxy. Soon they were both doubled over, clutching at their stomachs for fear they'd explode. Someone opened the door; they were never sure who; and, upon seeing that everything was all right, quietly closed it again.

Her mirth subsiding chuckle by chuckle, Pyrrha wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh." she sighed, and laughed again. "I can't remember the last time I laughed like that."

"It was- it was at the dance, wasn't it?" Weiss asked, hands on her knees, gasping for breath.

"That's right!" Pyrrha cried. "I wish I could've persuaded Jaune to keep that dress. He insisted on sending it home, though. I suppose that's for the best. His sisters must have loved it."

Weiss nodded. "You must be exhausted." she said, her chest still heaving. "I know I am."

Pyrrha nodded back. "I suppose we'd better get started." She looked at Weiss. "If you're sure." she added.

Weiss was still a definite shade of red, but she waved Pyrrha's concerns aside. "This isn't about me. It's about you." She opened the door to the bathroom. "Infirm first, please."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "I'll have you know I could still give you a run for your money."

"No." Weiss said firmly. "No exercise for at least a week after your symptoms disappear. Doctor's orders."

"Doctor's orders? Does that make you Nurse Schnee?" Pyrrha teased her. "I'm sure there's some of Blake's literature that deals with nurse-patient relationships..."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Just...wait there. Don't cause any more trouble. I'll get the water running."

Pyrrha leaned back against the countertop while Weiss prepared the bathtub. Her head was threatening to start pounding again. Was laughter considered exercise? No, it was medicine, wasn't it? Could it be both?

Weiss looked up. "The water is done. If you're ready to...disrobe, I'll give you some privacy."

Pyrrha shook her head. "I'd rather not fall asleep in the tub. I like being able to breathe."

Weiss's air of normalcy quickly vanished. "Then...what should I do?"

"Turn your back if it makes you feel better. I'll let you know if I'm in trouble."

Weiss hastily did as Pyrrha suggested. Pyrrha peeled off her shirt and sleep-pants, which were already drenched with sweat. Although, as she reflected, they had been before she'd entered the bathroom. Her leg started to tremble. Her knee knocked against the side of the tub.

"Pyrrha?" Weiss said from behind her, voice muffled by her hands across her face.

"It's nothing." Pyrrha said with a grimace. "Just some temporary muscle weakness." She managed to finish undressing, and slipped a leg into the water. The temperature made her yelp.

"Pyrrha!" Weiss said, still not turning around. "Will you please tell me what is going on?"

"It's practically boiling!" Pyrrha said.

"So add some cold water!"

"I can't bend down that far without my head hurting."

Weiss made a noise that sounded like a strangled scream. "Fine!" she said. She stormed over and twisted the rightmost knob. She stood there waiting, exerting every fiber of willpower she still possessed in order to not try and sneak a peek at Pyrrha Nikos in the buff. _Boy_ was she buff, though. Muscles everywhere, beautifully contrasting with curves. Her thighs, by all that was holy, could snap Weiss in half. And her chest...

Weiss blinked. She'd been peeking. Staring, even. There was so much to _see_. Pyrrha was just standing there, her hand to her head and her eyes closed. She hadn't noticed. _Pyrrha's_ sick _,_ she tried to tell herself. _She needs help, not you ogling her!_

"Weiss?" Pyrrha said. Weiss blinked again. "I think the tub is overflowing..."

"No no no no no!" Weiss screamed. She twisted both knobs in a panic, forgetting that she'd only turned one on a few seconds before. More water came out, and Weiss screamed again.

 

* * *

 

Several minutes and judiciously applied towels later, Weiss and Pyrrha had managed to clean up the bathroom rather nicely. JNPR would have a much larger laundry load at the end of the week, but at least they'd managed to keep the water in the bathroom where it belonged.

"So much for no exercise." Pyrrha smiled weakly.

Weiss groaned. "I'm sorry." she said. "I just wanted to help."

"You did help." Pyrrha said as she unwrapped herself (Weiss had insisted on Pyrrha putting at least something on before she could be caught staring at her again) and slipped into the tub. Water sloshed out and Weiss raced to mop it up. "I feel _wonderful_."

Weiss flushed, very grateful that Pyrrha could not see her right now. "That's...good..." she managed to say.

"How's your Aura?" Pyrrha asked. "I wouldn't want you overdoing it and getting sick like I am."

"It's fine." Weiss assured her. "Everything's fine." But it wasn't. She felt like a creep, like Cardin. She'd been _staring_. Pyrrha didn't deserve that.

"Weiss?" There was a gentle splashing sound and Weiss looked up. Pyrrha was peering over the edge of the tub at her. Did she know?

Weiss closed her eyes and recited a handful of prime numbers to herself. _2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13..._ "I...looked at you." she muttered. "While the water was running. I tried not to, but I couldn't help myself. I'm...I'm disgusting."

"Oh!" Pyrrha said. She reached out a hand. Weiss flinched away from it, expecting to be struck. _It's no more than I deserve._ But Pyrrha's hand went under her chin and lifted Weiss's face up to look at her. "Weiss," she said with a smile. "Do you think I would've stood there next to you for so long if I wasn't comfortable with who I am? Who you are?"

"W-what?"

"I know you. Maybe better than you know yourself. That's why I asked if you were sure you wanted to draw the bath for me."

"What are you implying?" Weiss jerked Pyrrha's hand away.

"What do you think I'm implying?" Pyrrha said gently.

"I don't know! That's why I asked you!" Weiss got to her feet and turned her back to Pyrrha. "Just take your time. I'll try and help you when you're done."

"Very well." Pyrrha said, without a trace of anger. Weiss imagined her turning around and leaning her head back against the rim of the tub. She forbade her thoughts from going any further, but they did anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a light fluffy story. Weiss had other ideas.  
> Warnings for a panic attack and internalized homophobia.

Weiss helped Pyrrha into bed, though she refused to help her dress. She was about to go back to her homework when Pyrrha said, "Weiss." She turned. "I think we should talk about-"

Weiss shook her head. "There's nothing to talk about." she said. "I made a mistake; I apologized, and you accepted; let's move on."

"But-"

"No!" Weiss shouted. Pyrrha flinched. Weiss took a deep breath. _17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37..._ "I mean, I appreciate the offer. But like I said, this isn't about me. It's about you. And you need your rest."

She went back to the center of the room, picked up her quill and started to write. She could feel Pyrrha watching her. _Why does_ she _care?_ she thought angrily. No matter how hard she worked, no matter how hard she wrote, it wasn't enough. She could still feel those eyes upon her. Then she realized Pyrrha was asleep again, and it wasn't her eyes she'd been dreading. It was his.

She could hear him now as well. _Same-sex relationships are a societal dead end. They can't reproduce. And as heiress, that will be your duty one day. Love doesn't have to enter into it._

"Weiss?" She dimly heard Pyrrha's voice. It was coming closer. "Weiss, what's wrong?"

She was shaking. "Don't touch me." she whispered. But she did, and Weiss screamed it this time. "Don't touch me!"

Pyrrha withdrew her hand. She'd never known Weiss to be like this. She stood on trembling legs and made her way back to her bed, and the nightstand, and her Scroll. _Ruby,_ Pyrrha texted her. _Weiss is having some sort of problem. She doesn't want me to touch her, and she won't tell me what it is._

The response was immediate. _We're on our way,_ Ruby said.

Pyrrha smiled in relief. Then she looked at the time. _Don't you have class?_

 _Friends take priority,_ a different Scroll chimed in. Pyrrha checked the caller's ID. It was Yang. _Ruby's using her Sembl-_

That was all Pyrrha had time to read. There was a series of frantic knocks at the door. Weiss curled in on herself even more, whimpering inarticulately under her breath. Pyrrha strode as quickly as she could to the door. Ruby swept in before it was fully open, and knelt at Weiss's side. "Hey, Weiss," she said soothingly. "It's me. I'm here. You're safe."

Weiss shook her head.

Pyrrha made sure the door was closed before she joined Ruby on the floor. "Does this happen often?"

Ruby frowned. "No. We made her tell us about it last time it did. Yang wrote down a list of things for us to try. She should be bringing it by any minute."

More knocking at the door. Weiss shivered. "Tell them to go away. Tell them I'm fine." she whispered.

"Not a chance Weiss." Ruby said with a smile. She looked up at Pyrrha. Pyrrha nodded and went to open the door.

Yang immediately joined her sister at Weiss's side, handing Ruby her Scroll and pulling out her own. "I'm thinking we need to group-share this," she said. "If my Scroll gets lost or damaged, we'll be back at square one."

"Group-sharing means it's easier to intercept." Blake said. "Weiss wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Guys." Everyone looked at Ruby. "This can wait until later. Yang, what's the first thing on the list?"

Yang took a deep breath. "Okay." She looked at her Scroll, and leaned in closer to Weiss. "Weiss? We're here for you. Breathe, honey, breathe. Deep breaths. Everything's going to be fine."

Pyrrha looked at Blake.

"What?" Blake asked.

"'Honey'?" Pyrrha mouthed.

Blake shrugged. "It's a term of endearment. Yang thinks she didn't get enough of them when she was growing up."

Weiss was picking herself up off the floor. Ruby and Yang hovered at respectful distances. "Do you need to leave?" Ruby asked. Weiss didn't respond.

"Pyrrha." Pyrrha turned to Yang. "Is it all right if we take Weiss back to our room?"

"Of course." Pyrrha said, puzzled. "But why are you asking me?"

"She came here to visit you. We didn't want you to be alone." Yang said.

Pyrrha blushed. "Thank you." she said. "But I want whatever is best for her."

"Back to the room we gooo!" Ruby cheered quietly. "Don't worry Weiss. I'll get you milk and cookies, just like that." She clicked her fingers together without making a sound that might startle Weiss.

"I need rest, you dolt." Weiss mumbled, but Pyrrha thought she looked a little pleased.

Ruby and Yang helped Weiss out of the room. Blake made no movement to join them. "Is something wrong Blake?" Pyrrha asked her.

Blake didn't meet her eyes. Then she said, "Before the dance, I was... I was pushing myself too hard. Yang helped snap me out of it. You should listen to her."

"I remember." Pyrrha said. "You were..." She pursed her lips. "...more easily agitated than normal."

Blake almost smiled. "Is that your way of saying I was grumpy?"

Pyrrha blushed. Suddenly she swayed on her feet. "I've been standing up too long." she murmured.

Blake caught her before she hit the ground again. "See what I mean?" Blake said as she helped Pyrrha back to bed.

Pyrrha nodded drowsily. "I did push myself a little hard today. I helped Weiss mop up the bathroom after she let the tub overfill."

Blake almost smiled again. "I'm glad I wasn't here when it happened." she said. She pulled the blankets up around Pyrrha's body and closed the blinds. Pyrrha was fast asleep by that point.


	4. Chapter 4

"Pyrrha."

She moaned. "What is it?"

"You have a visitor."

"What?" She managed to sit up. "Do they know what time it is?" As an afterthought, she asked, "Ren, can you tell me what time it is?"

"It's late." Ren's face was hidden in shadows. "And yes, she does. It's Professor Goodwitch."

Pyrrha gasped. "Professor!" She jumped to her feet, ignoring her head and heart voicing separate but equal protestations.

Glynda raised a hand from the doorway. "Miss Nikos, please. Don't get up. As Mr Ren said, it's late."

Pyrrha sat back down gratefully, though she kept her hands in her lap and attempted to sit up straight. "Is anything wrong?"

"Not at all." Glynda stepped gracefully into the room. "And I apologize for waking you. I couldn't step away from things until a few minutes ago." She indicated Ren with a nod. "To his credit, your teammate was less than enthused by my asking to visit you. I very nearly had to pull rank on him before he would allow it."

Pyrrha smiled at Ren. "Ren, what did I say about getting some rest?" she teased him.

The corners of his mouth tightened wryly.

"How are you feeling?" Glynda asked.

Pyrrha sighed. "Not very well I'm afraid. I must admit I overexerted myself earlier when Weiss was here." Only too late did she realize how those words might sound. "Oh!" She put a hand to her mouth. "I didn't mean-"

Glynda smiled. "I know very well those attentions are focused elsewhere." she said.

Pyrrha's blush nearly lit up the room.

Ren looked at Glynda. "If there's nothing else, Professor, I'll leave you to it."

"You needn't go far." Glynda informed him as he walked past her to the door. "I don't intend to keep Miss Nikos awake for long."

"I'll be in the hall then." Ren nodded at his teammate. "Pyrrha. Professor."

"Good night Ren." Pyrrha called. She wasn't sure if he heard her before the door closed.

"May I sit down Pyrrha?" Glynda asked.

"Of course." Pyrrha said.

Glynda pulled her riding crop out and gestured at a chair to bring it closer. She sat down and placed her crop in her lap, but not before making another gesture to open the blinds a little to help brighten the room. "I wanted to pick your brain about the Vytal Festival. I know you're not in shape for it now, but it's only a few weeks away-"

"Of course I'll be entering." Pyrrha said. "I wouldn't want to let anyone down."

Glynda sighed. "Illnesses can be unpredictable. Almost as much as the times we live in." She sounded strange when she said that. Pyrrha tucked that away to examine later. "You're young and strong, but you of all people should know not to overdo it."

"I won't do anything foolish Professor." Pyrrha tried to assure her.

Glynda frowned at her. "And what do you mean by foolish?"

Pyrrha couldn't meet her eyes all of a sudden. "I..."

Glynda got to her feet. "We can have this discussion another time. But rest assured I'll have my eyes on you." She smiled to soften the blow. "Rest well Miss Nikos." She gestured at the chair and it tucked itself away in its original spot. "I'll see myself out."

"Have a good night." Pyrrha said.

Glynda smiled again, and pulled the door to.

Ren opened it a few moments later as Pyrrha was getting back under the covers. "Everything all right?"

"Yes Ren. I hope you didn't think I was trying to brush you off earlier." She wasn't sure why she said that last part out loud. The fever must be taking its toll on her inhibitions as well.

"I did not." he smiled. "For my part, I apologize for not letting you know of Weiss's arrival. You were asleep, and she was forceful."

"That does sound like Weiss." Pyrrha said with a smile. "Do you know how she is doing?"

Ren nodded. "Yang invited us to their dorm room for a sleepover until you're feeling better. She said you're welcome to stop by if you feel up for it. As for Weiss..." He shrugged. "She seems much the same, but complains of everyone walking on eggshells around her."

Pyrrha coughed. "That also sounds like Weiss. I won't keep you any longer." she added with a yawn. "Sleep well."

"You as well." He closed the door softly.

To her surprise, Pyrrha found herself unable to sleep. There was something in Glynda's demeanor that spoke of ulterior motives, beyond a professor's concern for the well-being of a student. What was it she'd meant by _the times we live in_?

Pyrrha looked out the window. A leaf drifted by, framed by the backdrop of the shattered moon.


	5. Chapter 5

Pyrrha heard the door open. She was too tired even to open her eyes, but the footsteps were at least familiar. "Hey Pyrrha." Her suspicions were confirmed by the newcomer's voice. It was Yang. "I know you're probably sleeping. You're definitely still sick. But I... I needed to vent. Is that all right?"

"Of course." Pyrrha murmured. Her eyes remained closed, but she could tell Yang jumped a little in surprise.

"I'm sorry." Yang said even more quietly. "Did I wake you?"

"No." Pyrrha said. She couldn't even tell if it was true. "Please, go ahead. Pretend I'm still asleep if it helps."

"Okay..." There was the sound of shifting fabric. "Is it all right if I sit down on the bed? Not your bed, someone else's."

"Mmm." Pyrrha said in affirmation, then, when her ears failed to pick up the sound of squeaking bedsprings, she said, "Mmm hmm."

"Was that a 'mmm hmm' or a 'hmm mmm'?" Yang asked.

Pyrrha smiled in response to the joke. "It was a yes."

"Okay." Bedsprings squeaked. "Just wanted to be sure." The silence that followed was so long that Pyrrha half-wondered if she'd fallen asleep, or if Yang had. Finally, Yang spoke. "So, I don't know if anyone told you about what we were doing before the Breach. We were on a mission to Mountain Glenn. The night of the dance, Ruby-" Yang cut herself short. "No. She said we weren't supposed to talk about that. Sorry." Pyrrha waited. "Let's just say, Ruby received information that said there were some troublemakers in the southeast, and...well, you know what happened to Mountain Glenn." Pyrrha nodded slightly. "We figured it'd be a good place for a hideout, and Ozpin could tell we weren't about to give up even with all the Grimm in the area, so he assigned us to Oobleck. He's different, but I like him."

Pyrrha caught her attention wandering, and shook her head.

"What is it?" Yang asked immediately.

"Nothing. I was...dozing off. I'm sorry."

"Hey, my stories aren't that bad!" Yang said.

Pyrrha smiled again. "No, they're not. Please go on."

Yang took a breath. "Long story short, we found the White Fang there. They captured Ruby. They got off easy after what they did to her."

Pyrrha opened her eyes. "What did they do?" she gasped.

"They made fun of her. One of them even kicked her in the head." Yang's eyes were about to turn red.

"She's safe now. We're all safe."

"...yeah." Yang blinked slowly and her eyes returned to purple. "Anyway. They had a train full of Dust in the old tunnels beneath what was left of the city. They were going to blow it up and let the Grimm swarm in to Vale. The Breach could've been a lot worse if we hadn't stopped 'em. And..." Yang shook her head. "We got split up. We shouldn't have. Weiss fought one of the lieutenants. Didn't go well. Blake had to help her out after she knocked out Torchwick. I should've been there, but I couldn't even beat one little girl!"

"I'm sorry, I don't follow." Pyrrha said.

"It's not your fault. I got ahead of myself." Yang took another deep breath. "There was a girl there, like I said. We'd seen her before with Torchwick, just after we took out that robot he stole from Atlas. Short, silent, had an umbrella and a ridiculous sense of fashion. All pink and white and black..." Yang laughed hollowly. "I'm avoiding the subject. I got my butt handed to me. Couldn't land a hit. She just kept spinning around, dodging everything. I was too afraid to fire a shot cause of all the Dust on the train. There was...there was nothing I could do."

Pyrrha sat up. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and stumbled over to sit by Yang. "I remember the mission report." she said softly. "You'd been fighting for almost a day."

Yang scoffed at herself. "That's no excuse. I'm a Huntress. A Huntress in training. I should be used to-"

"Yang." Pyrrha said. "Blake told me how you helped her before the dance. I know how much you care about your team, but every so often you should take your own advice: don't push yourself so hard. You're only human."

Yang did not look convinced.

"The Vytal Festival is coming up. It's not all about the tournament. It's about celebrating life and friendship."

"Maybe." Yang said. "Hey, what are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be resting!" she added with a grin.

"You needed comfort. I was-" Pyrrha stopped. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"A little! Look who's talking, Miss Pyrrha Take Your Own Advice And Don't Push Yourself So Hard Nikos!" Yang grabbed Ren's pillow and hit Pyrrha gently across the shoulders.

Pyrrha laughed in surprise. "That's hardly fair!" She fended Yang off with one hand while she got to her feet and reached for Jaune's pillow on the bunk above.

"Your Semblance won't save you this time!" Yang said, gallantly allowing Pyrrha to arm herself. "Remember, the harder you hit me, the harder I hit _you_!"

"Then I'll have to try the unexpected!" Pyrrha threw Jaune's pillow into Yang's face, then dove back into her bed while Yang was distracted. "You wouldn't hit a sick person, would you?" She faked a cough. "Oh, the horror! I can hardly breathe!"

Yang glared down at her. "Cheater."

Pyrrha laughed again. "Tactician," she corrected.

"Uh huh!" Yang said. She whacked Pyrrha with Ren's pillow one more time before she dropped down to sit on the floor, resting her head on her weapon of choice for the day. "That felt good." she sighed.

Pyrrha smiled. "It certainly did. In fact, it reminded me of a idea for training I came up with the other day. We should all spar using a random weapon from a teammate. It'd be a good way to keep us on our toes; we might not always have our Ember Celicas or our Milós and Akoúo̱s nearby..."

"Nurse Schnee said no exercise." Yang reminded her.

"I didn't mean right now!" Pyrrha said, and laughed. "You came up with Nurse Schnee as well?"

"Hey, great minds." Yang held up an arm. "Fist bump!" Pyrrha obliged. "Aww yeah."


	6. Chapter 6

"Nononono...!" Jaune leaned forward in his seat.

But it was too late.

"Woooooo!" Yang cried, pumping her fist in the air. "That's my _girl_!"

Ruby's shoulders slumped. "Good games Jaune," she said. "I thought you had me like eight different times."

"Yeah." he sighed. "Couldn't quite clutch it out. I need to work on my execution. I'm sure Nora would tell you if she wasn't busy gossiping with Blake."

"Hey!" Nora said. "It's not gossip; it's book corner!" She punctuated her last remark with a pillow to Jaune's face.

"It's trashy paperback romance corner." Blake said dryly.

"I didn't know you were into those Nora." Ren said as he entered the room, expertly balancing a tray of seven mugs of hot chocolate.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Nora smirked at him. She bounced off of Blake's bunk and grabbed a mug from his tray.

Only Blake was close enough to notice the faint traces of red around her face as she returned. _Nora blushes,_ Blake thought. _Interesting._

Yang was reenacting a scene from one of the video games she'd been playing earlier in the evening with Ruby. "'Remember what we used to say?'" She pointed her mug at the door.

Ruby quickly balanced her mug on top of Yang's.

"'Checkmate.'" they both intoned.

Blake and Weiss both looked up. "Someone call?" Blake asked.

Ren chuckled at the exasperated look on the sisters' faces.

Ruby nearly spilled her cocoa as she pulled her mug back. A shimmering Glyph appeared around the top. "Where would you be without me?" Weiss said.

"Mopping up hot chocolate probably." Ruby said with a smile.

Weiss frowned. "You know what I mean."

"I mean, I- I'm really grateful you're on the team. We all are." Ruby said. "Your Glyphs have been really good recently."

"If by 'really good' you mean 'they exist', then yes, I agree." Weiss muttered, turning her back so no one could see her going red.

Someone coughed in the doorway. Everyone turned. "Pyrrha!" Jaune said.

Pyrrha raised a hand and smiled shyly. "Hello." she said, and tried not to cough again.

Jaune got to his feet. "What are you doing here? You should be in bed, asleep."

Pyrrha looked at the floor. "I...I couldn't get to sleep." she murmured.

"At the very least you should be resting." Ren said. "I can fetch you something to read from the library...?"

"Reading makes my head hurt." Pyrrha said. "You wouldn't believe how boring it gets with no one to talk to."

"Weren't you worried about being contagious?" Ruby asked.

"The doctor said my Aura is keeping it in check for now. Acting like a shield on the inside as well as on the outside."

Yang frowned. _That doesn't sound like what Aura does to me,_ she thought. _At least not naturally..._

Nevertheless she joined her team as well as Jaune, Nora and Ren in welcoming Pyrrha to the group. "You can have my chair. I'm fine with standing." Yang offered.

Pyrrha accepted with a smile. "Thank you Yang. Let me know if you need to sit down though."

"I'll be fine. I've got my team to hold me up!"

Blake glanced up again from her book. "If you're thinking of sitting on me, that's not one of my things."

Yang looked flustered. "Blaaaake! Don't say those kind of things in front of Ruby!"

"I'm not a child any more Yang." Ruby said reassuringly.

"No, but you're still my baby sister!" Yang grabbed her in a ferocious hug. "C'mere!"

While Ruby and Yang got into their usual double-act ("Yang! My ribs! They're going! Going! Gone! I'm a pile...of mulch! Dust in the wind! And not the Schnee Dust kind!"), Jaune turned to Pyrrha. "So." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know I haven't been in to see you, and...and that's not fair. On you. But, when I saw you unconscious on the mat, iiit was the first time I'd really seen you take a hit. At least that's what I thought, until we got you to the doctor's office. It was more than that though, it was the first time I'd seen you _vulnerable_. At all. You've got this aura around you; not your Aura, but...you know, just this feeling of impermeability, like the metal you can control. Seeing you without it...it scared me."

That was a lot to take in. Pyrrha blinked several times. "I'm still human Jaune." she murmured at last. "I know I don't always act it. I try to be an example for all the younger Huntsmen and Huntresses out there, including those who don't know that's what they want yet. But I'm still human. I have the same foibles as everyone else, the same doubts, the same desires..." She blushed.

"Desires huh? What do you want?" As usual, Jaune was quick to try and correct himself. He'd been treating her like a celebrity again, something he'd promised himself he wouldn't do.

Pyrrha laughed lightly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She put her hand on his shoulder, almost without realizing. "Right now I just want to be here with you, and Ren, and Nora, and Yang, and Ruby..." She yawned. "Weiss...Blake..."

Her head was where her hand had been, but she was still so far away that he was afraid she would fall over if he moved. "Can I get some help here?" he muttered.

Yang picked up on his request right away. "What do you need Jaune?" she asked as she came over.

"Move Pyrrha a little closer? I don't want her to fall and hit her head, or any other part of her."

Yang obliged. "You know," she said as she gently scooted Pyrrha's chair over. "I can name at least three people in this room who would give just about anything to be in your position right now."

"Yeah, and that's not even counting all the people outside this room." He put an arm around Pyrrha's shoulders to make up for lost time. "Thanks Yang."

"Don't mention it." She went back over to the group.

 

* * *

 

As Team RWBY disappeared into the bathroom, Ren turned to Jaune. "Do you need any help getting Pyrrha back into bed?"

"Nah." Jaune said, with a confidence he did not entirely feel. Yes he'd grown up with seven sisters, and yes he'd lived with both Nora and Pyrrha for some time now. But taking an unconscious young woman back to a room that was for now just hers? Just the two of them? _What if I do something wrong?_ He'd heard Cardin tell some very unpleasant stories when he'd been sure no one important was within hearing distance. "I got this."

"You got this." Nora affirmed before she adjusted her eyemask and settled down into her sleeping bag.

"We'll see you when you get back." Ren said with a smile.

"Ren, we're like right down the hall! I'll be back in no time!"

Ren just continued to smile, even after Jaune had taken Pyrrha out of the room.

"Ya think she's gonna tell him?" Nora asked.

"If she doesn't, I'll eat my socks."

"Eat _my_ socks; they're **worse**!" To prove her point, Nora threw them at Ren.

He dodged. "Indeed they are."

"Heyyy!"

 

* * *

 

Pyrrha shifted in her sleep. "Jaune?" she whispered without opening her eyes.

Jaune froze with the comforter still in his hands. "Yes Pyrrha?"

"I love you Jaune."

"I...love you too?" He did at that, but not in the way Pyrrha wanted. Not then in any case.

She hummed and smiled and snuggled deeper into the bed.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Sleep well Pyrrha." he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for now. A nice birthday present to myself.


End file.
